Vineyard and winery records for New Zealand
Winery and vineyard management software for New Zealand growers and winemakers
Your WSMP verifier, your SWNZ auditor and Customs each want the same thing: written proof of what went on the vines and into the wine, kept for years and found fast. GrapeFlow keeps those records for estates that grow their own fruit — from block to bottle — for 99 USD/month per winery, 90-day free trial, no credit card required.
- 90-day free trial
- No credit card required
- No per-user fees
One record from the row to the bottle
Blocks and the spray diary
Variety, area and planting year per block; phenology, ripening samples and observations. Each spray is logged with product, active ingredient, rate, area, re-entry and pre-harvest interval, ready to print.
Mildew risk and harvest intake
A downy and powdery mildew risk per block from modelled weather, as a decision aid. Weigh tickets are booked against the block, and fruit picked inside a pre-harvest interval is flagged on arrival.
Cellar work by lot
Tanks, barrels and amphorae; transfers, blends, additions, ferments and lab results, all in litres and dated.
Bottling and recall
Bottled stock, a PDF recall report from any lot up to the blocks and down to every bottling run, and a public QR page per bottled lot.
What a winery in New Zealand must record
Taken from MPI’s Integrated WSMP Model (November 2024), the Wine Regulations 2021, MPI’s export guidance and the Customs record-keeping page. Your own registered plan and your verifier have the final word on what applies to you.
| Record | Legal basis | What it must contain | How long to keep it | Who checks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grapes and other commodities received | Wine Act 2003; WSMP (Integrated WSMP Model, sourcing and receiving cards) | Supplier, date of receipt and quantity; sprays or agricultural compounds applied; for grapes, the withholding period of each spray and the last date it was used; any contamination and what was done about it | At least 7 years | Your WSMP verifier; Wine Officers and MPI on request |
| Winemaking inputs and adjustments | Wine Act 2003; WSMP (documenting your winemaking process card) | Type and amount of every input in each batch, and every adjustment, addition or change — including those made off-site or at bottling, with the WSMP they were made under | At least 7 years | WSMP verifier |
| Traceability from vineyard to customer | Wine Act 2003; WSMP (sourcing and tracing NZ grape wine card) | Enough to trace packaged or bulk wine back to the source vineyards and forward to the next recipient: volumes at each step, wine used for blends, transfers and top-ups, movements between sites, the WSMP number of any bought-in juice or wine | At least 7 years; traceability records must be produced within 24 hours of a request | WSMP verifier, who may run a tracing test; MPI |
| Simulated and real recalls | WSMP (recalling wine card) | Actions and outcomes of a simulated recall held at least every 12 months; for a real recall, the wine and lot affected, reason, volume, date and what happened to the wine | At least 7 years | WSMP verifier |
| Export batch records | Wine Act 2003 s 40; Wine Regulations 2021 reg 87; MPI Wine Export and Exemptions guidance | For each batch: the WSMP it was made under, proof it meets export eligibility and any OMAR, quantity, storage location and package type; the experienced winemaker’s sensory declaration if made outside MPI Trade Certification; consignees | Records 7 years; two samples per batch for two months after eligibility | MPI |
| Excise stock and production records (licensed manufacturing area) | Customs and Excise Regulations 1996, reg 59(2) | Inwards goods and stock registers, production records, sales and receipts, evidence of wine damaged, lost or destroyed, transport and consignment notes, and financial records | At least 7 years, stored in New Zealand unless Customs agrees otherwise | New Zealand Customs Service |
The WSMP Model also asks that every record is accurate, legible and shows what was done, when and by whom, and that other records reach a Wine Officer within 2 working days.
The compliance year for a New Zealand winery
Dates confirmed on MPI, Customs and New Zealand Winegrowers pages. Your verifier, Customs licence and SWNZ membership may set others.
Every month — Customs excise entry. A licensed area lodges its entry by the 15th working day of the month after the wine leaves, and pays by the last working day of that month; a nil return is due when nothing left. After six clean months on the monthly cycle, a winery whose duty stays under 100,000 New Zealand dollars a year can ask for six-monthly entries, and under 50,000 for an annual one (15th working day of July).
At harvest (autumn) — grape receipts. Every load: supplier, date and weight, plus each spray’s withholding period and last application date, and anything added in the field such as SO₂. Region, variety and vintage too if the label will claim them.
30 June — SWNZ submissions. The annual questionnaire and, for vineyard members, the full spray diary for the season are due; late fees apply to anything still outstanding after 1 September. Membership fees run 1 July to 30 June.
Every 12 months — WSMP verification. Only wine made and packaged under a plan verified in the last 12 months can be exported; a new plan must be verified within 6 months of registration, or before the first export.
Every 12 months — simulated recall. At least once a year, counted from the last simulated or real recall, with the actions and results kept for your verifier.
Before each export batch — eligibility. Register the batch in MPI Trade Certification with a sensory declaration from a winemaker with two or more years’ experience; after sampling, only SO₂ may change, by no more than 10 mg/kg. Eligibility lasts up to two years for packaged wine and three months for bulk.
Within 24 hours — non-compliance. Tell MPI within 24 hours of finding a critical or export non-compliance, and within 30 days of changing your WSMP manager or verification agency.
Inspections and schemes: what they ask to see
WSMP verification
The verifier asks to see where the grapes came from, volumes of fruit and inputs received, every input and when it went in, all wine used for blends, transfers and top-ups, and proof of label claims — and may trace a bottle back to the vineyard on the spot. GrapeFlow holds the blocks, weigh tickets, additions, blends and lot history behind that trace.
Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ)
Members submit an annual questionnaire on soil, water, plant protection, waste, people and climate change, and vineyards a full spray diary checked against the spray schedule; independent auditors visit the site. The SWNZ logo needs 100% certified vineyards and wineries. GrapeFlow keeps the spray diary you report from, but the diary must reach SWNZ through GrapeLink or a programme that integrates with it — GrapeFlow doesn’t.
MPI export eligibility and OMARs
MPI checks each batch: annually verified WSMP, sensory declaration, and lab tests from an ISO 17025-accredited, MPI-recognised laboratory where an overseas market requires them. GrapeFlow shows a batch’s lots, volumes, analyses and blocks of origin; the Trade Certification application and the export eligibility statement stay with you.
Customs excise audits
Customs audits stock and production records against your excise entries and asks for evidence of losses before any remission. GrapeFlow’s tank, transfer and bottling records give you the litres; it doesn’t compute duty or lodge entries.
Organic exports
Organic grape wine needs organic exporter registration and an official organic assurance for each consignment; SWNZ members on the organic equivalence pathway have their sprays audited each year by their organic certifier instead. GrapeFlow’s application log is the evidence you show; it issues no certificate.
Where GrapeFlow fits, and where it stops
| Obligation | What GrapeFlow keeps | What stays with you |
|---|---|---|
| WSMP receiving and spray withholding records | Weigh tickets per block, and each block’s applications with pre-harvest intervals — with a warning at intake when one wasn’t met. | Your registered plan, its scope and verification. |
| WSMP traceability and recall test | Lot history from block to bottling run, and the PDF recall report to run a simulated recall from. | Running the exercise, notifying MPI and contacting customers. |
| SWNZ spray diary and questionnaire | A printable spray diary per block for the season. | Submitting through GrapeLink or a compatible programme, and the questionnaire. |
| Export eligibility (MPI Trade Certification) | Batch volumes, analyses and origin. | The batch application, sensory declaration, retained samples and export documents. |
| Customs excise and record storage | Litres in, moved and bottled, in dated records. | Entries, payment, and a copy of business records held in New Zealand. |
GrapeFlow isn’t affiliated with MPI, New Zealand Customs, New Zealand Winegrowers or SWNZ, and submits nothing to any of them.
Who it suits in New Zealand
Estates that grow and make their own wine in any of the regions New Zealand Winegrowers lists — Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay, Central Otago, North Canterbury, Gisborne, Wairarapa, Nelson, Auckland, Northland or the Waitaki Valley. SWNZ certifies vineyards by property, as contiguous blocks under one company, so GrapeFlow lets you record each block inside a vineyard on its own.
Units are metric: hectares, kilograms and tonnes for fruit, litres in the cellar. Vintage arrives in autumn, so your SWNZ season closes in June, a few months after the last fruit comes in. The mildew model knows sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, chardonnay, pinot gris, riesling, syrah, merlot and several others; any other variety can still be recorded.
A winery making only for the local market under MPI’s very small winemaker exemption can’t export or make wine for export, but still benefits from tidy block and cellar records. GrapeFlow runs in the browser, on a computer or a phone.
Sources
Official pages read on 31 October 2026:
- MPI — Integrated Wine Standards Management Plan (WSMP) Model, November 2024
- MPI — Wine Export and Exemptions guidance, 17 December 2024
- Wine Act 2003 — New Zealand Legislation
- New Zealand Customs — record-keeping for alcohol licensed manufacturing areas
- New Zealand Customs — excise entry lodgement timing
- New Zealand Winegrowers — Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand
- New Zealand Winegrowers — SWNZ terms and conditions
One price for the whole winery
99 USD/month, or 990 USD/year (two months free), excluding taxes. Vineyard, cellar, traceability and the spray diary are all included, with no per-user fees. 90-day free trial, no credit card required.
Start the 90-day trialFrequently asked questions
How long do I have to keep winery records in New Zealand?
At least seven years. MPI’s WSMP Model asks for seven years for every record the plan requires, and Customs asks the same for excise records in a licensed manufacturing area — stored in New Zealand unless Customs has agreed otherwise.
Can GrapeFlow send my spray diary to SWNZ?
No. SWNZ takes spray diaries electronically through GrapeLink or a programme that integrates with it, and GrapeFlow has no such link. It keeps the diary per block, printable at any time, so you can check it before you submit.
When are SWNZ submissions due?
By 30 June each year, according to the SWNZ terms and conditions; late fees apply to submissions still outstanding after 1 September.
Does GrapeFlow handle export eligibility or excise?
No. Export eligibility and documents go through MPI Trade Certification, and excise entries go to Customs. GrapeFlow keeps the batch, volume and lab records you draw on, and submits nothing.
How much does GrapeFlow cost?
99 USD/month, or 990 USD/year (two months free), excluding taxes, in USD. One price per winery, every module included, no per-user fees, and a 90-day trial without a credit card.
What language is the app in?
English, with Portuguese also available.